This invention relates to the field of scroll saws and a blinder to shield the operator's vision from the rapid up and down movement of the upper saw blade arm.
Prior art devices known to the inventor include those described and shown in the following United States patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,541 discloses a scroll saw having a blade guard 123 to protect the user of the saw blade from injury and to also hold the workpiece on the table.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,909 discloses a hacksaw machine which discloses a pair of spaced apart swinging arms having a hacksaw blade connected between the front ends of the swinging arms, the rearward ends of one or both biased by a draw spring to apply an adjustable tension on the saw blade, the swinging arms being mounted in a U-shaped frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,446 discloses a power hand saw, comprising a vertically extending saw blade which reciprocates up and down above the work table, in which the operating mechanism is below the work table. A tubular safety shield is mounted above the work table to receive the reciprocating saw blade within its vertical passageway, the front portion of the tubular safety shield being cut away for better visibility of the reciprocating saw blade.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,870,837 discloses a high speed pivoted cutting machine for use in repairing shoes, having a reciprocating blade and a protective guard which covers the blade but not the outer end of the upper arm. The guard is to protect the hand and fingers of the operator from coming in contact with the blade.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,764,189 discloses a power saw having a saw blade which extends above the work table and reciprocates up and down in the vertical direction, the operating mechanism being below the work table. A guard is provided above the work table to protect the hands and fingers of the operator from contact with the blade.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,350,247 discloses a machinery guard to protect the hands and fingers of a workman from contact with a reciprocating blade or tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,447,987 discloses a safety guard for presses, such as a metal stamping press, which encloses the work piece but which is of transparent or mesh material so the workman can see through the guard to observe operation of the press arm and stamping head as it contacts and presses against the work piece.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,102,544 discloses an embroidery trimming machine having a guide to prevent the cutter from cutting too close to the embroidery and also prevents movement of the embroidery too far under the guide.
The improved scroll saw with a blinder in accordance with this invention solves a problem which none of the prior art guard devices address, namely the visual distraction and tiring effect of having the continuous up and down movement of the outer end of the upper saw blade arm in the field of vision of the operator. The blinder in accordance with this invention includes a shield which is positioned in front of the outer end of the upper saw blade arm, having a vertical dimension long enough to span the distance the outer end of the upper saw blade arm travels upwardly and downwardly during operation of the reciprocating saw blade.
The blinder shield is held stationary by mounting it to a non-movable part of the scroll saw frame, such as the horizontally extending hold down arm to which the vertical shaft of the hold down foot assembly is connected, or to the vertical shaft of the hold down foot assembly itself.
The blinder shield is preferably arcuate in shape, having a convex surface facing outwardly and away from the outer end of the upper saw blade arm and a concave surface facing inwardly and toward the outer end of the upper saw blade arm. The blinder shield curves around to block the operator's field of vision on each side of the outer end of the upper saw blade arm as it moves up and down during operation of the reciprocating saw blade.